The Keeper's Codex: Ashen Memories

by A. D. Wills

  Next, Caden went for the sealed letter, carefully prying it open, regardless how excited he might be. More than anything, Caden would love to have one last conversation with them, especially today of all days.

  Unfolding it only revealed a blank letter though.

  “Hmm, what'd the old man tell me to do again...” Caden tried remembering what Garner told him when he gifted him the chest this morning—already having sifted out Garner's words, as he made a bad habit over the years.

  Having dealt with Lukas' antics in the past, sending him blank letters all the time, Garner knew exactly what to do, suspecting Lukas would pull the same trick on Caden.

  “Oh ya, I need a candle or something.”

  Caden looked around the room, and spotted a stubby—mostly melted—candle with a little flint on the side to light it. Caden hovered it above the flame until he spotted some words appearing upon peeking underneath it.

  Caden, I guess it goes without saying that your mother and I are writing this.

  Sorry, I never know how to start one of these. Garner will tell you that too

  And to be honest, I hope you never have to read it, but if you are, we're obviously gone.

  That said, it also means Garner held up his end of the bargain, and remembered my trick!

  Even though we can't be there to send you off, we wanted to do it some way.

  Your mother and I weren't about to let you go without saying goodbye.

  I still remember the first time you came to us and said you wanted to become an adventurer.

  We knew right away that you meant it.

  The way your face brimmed with unwavering confidence,

  and not to mention, the way you begged me to help you train in our free time every day,

  Or when you pleaded with me to bring you along on my trade trips to Emerod,

  no matter how boring they actually were.

  Honestly, how badly you wanted to become one almost scared your mother and I a little bit.

  Even growing up in a run down place like Stonehill, you never let that dampen your dream.

  I know we told you all kinds of stories when you were younger,

  But now, it's time for the real thing.

  The world is a dark place, Caden.

  It's much more dangerous than your Mother and I ever told you.

  Many thrive in it, swallowing up everyone else around them

  Without hope of escape from their suffocating grasps.

  But we're not asking you to save it.

  Just be who you've always been.

  Be that beacon, and leave a trail of light in your wake,

  So that no matter how far ahead you might get,

  The ones still lost in the dark can find their way back.

  And when you find those special few who are willing to walk alongside you,

  Hold them close, and never let go.

  But anyway, your Mother is looking over my shoulder right now,

  That's the signal that I've been ranting on for too long, much like the stories I'd stretch out before bed.

  We hope that everything we gave you helps you in whatever journey you choose to take.

  As for how to use everything, we leave the rest of that up to you.

  Honestly, I wish I could keep writing, but I'm running out useful things to say,

  But there's one last thing.

  No matter where you are, or what anyone says, you will always be our son.

  Never forget that Caden.

  And if you ever need some place to stay or any help, just go back to Garner's tavern,

  He'll be there in our place.

  So congrats, son, you're now an adventurer.

  Good luck!

  With much love and hope.

  Caden took a moment to look at the letter, before it burst into a flashing flame—sputtering out into little glowing embers.

  Caden threw this attention to the trinkets. “I guess all that's left now are these things...” Caden grabbed the three trinkets, one being a little completely smooth disc, another being a plain blue cylindrical grip, and finally, a big ornate metal box.

  No matter how much Caden fiddled with the little disc, and box, nothing happened, and there weren't any instructions around that his parents left behind.

  Moving on to the compact handle, Caden poked around for a bit, until he slid it in his hand. Indentations clicked, and depressed into the handle, ensuring it fit perfectly in his grip, but otherwise, nothing happened.

  A sudden knock on the door shocked, and seized Caden's body up, causing him to squeeze the handle. A thin line shot out to the sound of a shattering crack of a whip, and it's sharp metal tip anchored itself into the ceiling.

  “Um...excuse me...” A soft nervous voice seeped through the door.

  Caden scrambled around, trying to get it to retract—smacking it around, before another tight squeeze zipped it back into place, but it only made the hole worse when chunks of the ceiling fell down onto the floor. “One second...crap—I mean, everything's fine!”

  Caden feared it might be someone checking for his ticket, and tried to figure out a way to cover it up, but without any sheet or any kind, or time to repair it, he cracked the door open only enough to poke his face through.

  “Heyyyy...” with a drawn out shaky voice, Caden greeted someone covered head to toe in thick beige clothes.

  The bulky, broadly-shaped person wore a cage-like helmet, and carried a large pack on their back without so much as lurching over from it's sure-to-be tasking weight. Otherwise, Caden couldn't glean anything from their appearance.

  “Hi,” They replied in a timid tone.

  “So, do you need anything?” Caden asked, suspicion written all over his guilty face.

  “Sorry, it's just...this is also the room I'm staying in...if that's alright,” Muttering off in nervous trailing, their head dipped down to stare at the floor.

  “Oh, that's fine then! I thought you were an inspector or something. Come on in.” Caden pulled them in, looked both ways down the hall and locked the door behind them.

  They looked up at the torn up ceiling, and chunks scattered along the floor.

  “Sorry about that, I accidentally broke a bit of the ceiling using one of these trinkets I just opened up.” Caden pointed over to the shelf.

  “It's ok, it doesn't bother me,” They muffled through their caged helmet, trying to not ruffle any feathers.

  “Here, you should put that pack down over here, want some help?” Caden tried to help them carry their big pack to the corner, but his arms gave out. “What's in this thing...”

  “Some meals I made before leaving, but mostly ingredients and cooking tools,” they replied.

  Caden's stomach growled at the mention of food. “Sorry about that,” Caden couldn't help but laugh it off.

  “It's fine...I have plenty of food if you want some,” they suggested through their slouched posture that only looked to be curling further in.

  “Really? I haven't eaten today so you'd really be helping me out. I don't even know if I can get any food on here, or if I was supposed to bring my own.”

  “I heard that you're left on your own in terms of food,” they confirmed, while rummaging through their pack—revealing fresh spices and herbs, along with the stack of pans and utensils, as if they were a professional chef.

  “Oh man, so this is going to be a rough ride." Caden slouched back into the bottom swinging hammock, dreading what he'll do after this meal.

  “I think I have enough for the two of us to last us for now.”

  “I mean, I don't want to turn that down, but I don't wanna take any food you might need on your own,” Caden admitted.

  They handed a meal over to Caden to dig into. "Oh it's fine, I would feel awful leaving someone hungry like this.”

  Caden gladly took the meal from their big hands, and unfolded the thick green leaves tied together. Fresh carrots, potatoes, and even a few strips of succulent meat all tucked in together in n
eat presentable fashion. Caden rushed in to take a big bite of everything he could fit in his mouth—inhaling the meal in a few minutes, at most.

  “W-was it alright?” They asked through a shaky voice.

  “Did you make that yourself?” Caden patted his now satisfied belly—a difficult feat to accomplish, if you asked Garner.

  “I...I had to make it in a rush, and I didn't have the best ingredients to work with...” They rattled off excuse, after excuse.

  “You should be a professional chef or something if you're making stuff like this,” Caden's eyes shot open. “Or wait, are you a professional? Oh man, I'm lucky to have you as a roommate then!”

  “Thanks...” they quietly thanked Caden, lowering their head again, as if it were reflex. “But I'm not a professional, I just enjoy cooking.”

  “Seriously? Well either way, that's the best meal I've had in a long time. Garner sucked at cooking,” Caden lightened the mood, chuckling upon imagining Garner's clumsy cooking. “But hey, are you gonna eat too? I'd feel kind of bad if I was the only one eating so well,” Caden hinted, but he really just wanted to see what was under that helmet; his curiosity getting the better of him.

  “...Alright, but please don't be scared,” they warned—grabbing the bottom of their helmet, pausing for a moment to think it over before slowly taking it off.

  With thick black fur all over, and a white patch over their right eye, he revealed himself to be an Ursine; a proud, strong race who call the secluded forest of Ursinbarrow their home. An Ursine roaming outside of Ursinbarrow wasn't unheard of, but exceedingly rare, especially alone. They would usually do everything together in packs, so as to avoid any would-be hunters seeking to earn some quick coin from their fur.

  “Now I can see why you could lift that pack so easily,” Caden full-on belly-laughed, not even stumbling or stammering for a moment upon seeing an Ursine. “By the way, I'm Caden. We should probably at least know each other's names if we're rooming together for now, right?”

  The Ursine stared, confused and even seemed unsure if Caden knew about the Ursine. “You're not nervous, or scared?”

  “What? No, why would I be?”

  He dropped his shoulders, and leaned his wide head against the wall with a deep sigh, as if a huge weight had been lifted. “Then I'm Sapporius Gusta-Brago Dominatias the Fourth, of Ursinbarrow,” Sapporius unfolded the palm leaves to dig in, and eat.

  Caden tapped on his chin. “Sapporius...Gus..Sappo Bragias...How about Sappo?” Caden blurted out, flashing his usual naive, forgetful smile.

  Sappo tripped up at the nickname. No one's ever called him anything but his full name. “T-that's alright with me.” Sappo lowered his head so as to hide his subtle smile.

  “So, what're you aboard the ship for, Sappo?” Caden asked, climbing up onto the hammock to swing around without a care—dangling one leg down over it.

  “I'm actually not sure. I left without thinking about that part...” Sappo's momentary happiness was sucked away, as his mind snapped back to a reality he was trying to bury. “To be honest, I left my home, Ursinbarrow, a few days ago. When I overheard my Father talking to the other villagers about how he's going to send me away in isolation to become a proper heir to the clan, I decided to leave. I knew I was going to be sent away, so I took what I could carry, and left on my own. But if I'm being honest, I've been wondering if anyone might chase after me. Maybe a part of me wanted them to, but at this point, I don't think anyone is coming...”

  “Why would he do that? Especially your Dad,” Caden asked.

  “We Ursine are expected to be good fighters and hunters. There isn't any room for much else. I don't know...I just can't be the warrior my father expects me to be. I'm not strong like he is. And even if I was, I don't want to fight like he does all the time. I...I don't have a reason to hurt anyone.” Sappo could barely mutter out his words laced with insecurity.

  “Who cares about any of that then?” Caden waved off and shook his head. “You're on your own now, right?”

  “Y-Yeah...” Sappo conceded.

  “Then what do you want to do? Your dad's not here, so who cares what he has to say?” Caden asked.

  Sappo's head raised back up, looking at Caden, who returned an unwavering stare Sappo's way, waiting with impassioned eyes. “I...I haven't given that much thought.” A simple question, but one Sappo hadn't been asked before. Not once.

  “What about cooking, you seem to be pretty great at that,” Caden pointed out, patting his full belly, and eyed some of the other meals in Sappo's pack behind him.

  “I love to cook, but I don't know...” Sappo trailed off, seemingly having something in mind he still held back.

  “Come on, there's gotta be something, right?” Caden insisted. “Seriously, anything you've ever wanted, that one thing!”

  “I've sometimes wondered what it might be like having a restaurant of my own one day—but nothing really. I-I honestly haven't really given it too much thought—” Sappo admitted.

  “There you go then! I've gotta say, I'd visit your restaurant already if you opened one up.” Caden grinned out.

  “Well, even if I did, that's not for a while. In the meantime, I want to try making my own recipes no one's ever tried before...I think that might be fun." Sappo conceded a creaking smile at the thought, finally allowing himself to dream it up in his mind's eye.

  “Then if you're looking for something to do in the meantime, why don't you tag along with me?” Caden suggested out of nowhere without any shame.

  Sappo paused, taken aback. He only just met Caden after all, but at the same time, he didn't feel odd about it somehow.

  “I mean, I bet there's a ton of new ingredients you can figure out some new recipes with. And you can cook as much as you want on the way, I mean, I wouldn't say no to it.” Caden licked his lips in thought, swinging around the hammock. “And besides, it's better than walking everywhere on your own, right? Why not do it together?”

  Sappo just sat there, as if he didn't understand the language Caden spoke. It's only been a few minutes, but already, Caden's shown him the most acceptance he's ever felt from anyone.

  Caden waved his hands in front of Sappo to try to snap him out of his daze. “Eh, Sappo, everything good?”

  “Y-yeah sorry." Sappo blinked away at the initial surprise of the offer. “I think I'll come along with you then, if that's alright...” Sappo couldn't wipe the smile off his wide warm face even if he wanted to now.

  “Well yeah, I invited you, right?” Caden joked, as if Sappo were the one acting odd here.

  “...Thanks...” Sappo swallowed down a warm lump, and kept it close in his full belly for safe-keeping. “So, you're becoming an adventurer?” Sappo asked to make sure.

  “Oh, you heard all of that back there, eh? Maybe I was a little loud after all.” Caden remembered the man from before who asked him, in a not-so-polite manner, to quiet down. “But ya, and I found out there's a guild in Tortsia we can go to. Maybe we can pick up a contract to get started with. Maybe even a dungeon, something to hunt or find, or anything really—it doesn't matter all that much to me what we end up doing, I just want to see, and do everything I can. Think you're up for that, Sappo? We might come across some pretty strong people, and dangerous places, but we can just figure it out together along the way. That's way better than having some set path anyway, right?”

  Instead of looking scared or nervous at the prospect, Caden looked fired up—ready for the challenges to come. Not one shred of unwavering fear, somehow sure of himself without a morsel of experience.

  Sappo nodded in a rare display of confidence upon feeling Caden's sure sense filling the room. “I'm in.” For once he felt sure of something.

  “Great! This is going to be so awesome, I've already got someone to travel with, and you're a chef too!”

  “Remember, I'm not quite a chef yet."

  “Then we should end up in Tortsia in a couple of days, if that guy I was talking to earlier was right,” Caden men
tioned.

  “Oh, that guy with the woman at the bar?” Sappo asked.

  “Yep, you know him?” Caden wondered.

  “No, but no one wanted to approach him, until you arrived.” Sappo recalled.

  “That's weird, he wasn't so bad. Actually, he helped me out a bunch,” Caden explained, jumping off the hammock, to check out his trinkets again with a fresh set of eyes in Sappo.

  For the rest of the afternoon and evening, Sappo and Caden tried to toy around with some of his trinkets, but had the same luck as earlier, none. They did just about everything they could, until eventually, Sappo popped open his pack and pulled out another couple of prepared meals for dinner—some of the last couple he had left. They enjoyed their meals together, staring out the little porthole window that showed a peaceful rainy night on the dark ocean.

  “Hopefully there's not a big storm or something on the way,” Caden blurted out through a full mouth, devoid of any manners whatsoever—gulping down without hardly chewing anything.

  Sappo's eyes widened, and a knot formed in his stomach. “You think there might be a big storm?”

  “What, something the matter, Sappo?” Caden noticed the worried distant look Sappo had.

  “I've never been on a boat until now, so that's been uneasy enough, and I don't know if I can handle a big storm. This boat looked old when I first got on it, so it might not hold up, and I know I can't swim...” Sappo quickly spiraled down into his worries one-by-one in a nervous rant.

  “I wouldn't worry too much about it, what do I know anyway, right?” Caden tried his best, albeit poorly, to try and deflect.

  Of course, right on cue, a deafening crack of thunder echoed down after a blinding forked bolt of lightning etched itself into the dark skies, striking down onto the now wicked ocean surface.

  “I knew it...I just knew it...” Sappo scurried to sit beside the shelves, gripping them tight to brace for the rough ride ahead.

  “Well, I didn't expect that."

  Sappo firmly closed his eyes, and wanted to just wait out the storm, while Caden pressed his face against the little porthole to check how bad it really was.